Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

This strawberry cream cheese frosting is light and fluffy, with the perfect amount of sweetness. The cream cheese gives it a delicious tang that balances out the sweet strawberry flavor.

For the best results, add the ingredients in the order listed.

This recipe makes enough frosting to cover a single layer 9-inch cake or the top of a 9x13-inch sheet cake. You can frost 24 cupcakes with about 1-1/2 tablespoons each or pipe a generous mound of frosting on 10 cupcakes.

You will need to double the recipe if you want to frost a double-layer 8-inch or 9-inch cake.

4.81 from 26 votes

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Prep Time: 10

Servings: -¼ cups

Calories: 57kcal

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

1-½ cups powdered sugar
½ cup butter softened
¼ cup strawberry jam
3 tablespoons powdered freeze dried strawberries*
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
8 ounces cream cheese softened

Instructions

Add the powdered sugar, powdered strawberries, and butter to a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for several minutes until creamy and fluffy.
Add the strawberry jam, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat until well combined.
Add the cream cheese and beat for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth and creamy.

Notes

To make powdered freeze-dried strawberries, place ½ ounce of freeze-dried strawberries in a food processor and process with a blade until the strawberries turn into a fine powder. A half ounce of freeze dried strawberries will make 3 tablespoons of powdered strawberries.
If you can't find freeze-dried strawberries, you can replace the strawberry powder with 1 teaspoon of strawberry extract. The strawberry powder will give the frosting a more natural flavor, but the extract works as long as you don’t use too much.
Make sure you add the cream cheese last. Creaming the butter and sugar first will allow the sugar to get completely coated in the butterfat. That will prevent the sugar from drawing the water out of the cream cheese and making a loose, runny frosting.
Make sure you use full-fat, block style cream cheese. Low-fat cream cheese, or the kind that comes in a tub will make the frosting thin and runny.
If you want the frosting to have a brighter pink color, you can add a couple of drops of red food coloring.

Nutrition